Expertise

“Push your boundaries beyond the ordinary; be that “extra” in “extraordinary.”

In the years before the pandemic, cleaning teams were often unnoticed as they quietly went about their work. In some sectors such as Life Sciences and Agri-foods, cleaning has always been critical and essential to business continuity. In many other industries cleaning less likely to be considered in a risk management strategy.

The pandemic has transformed perceptions about cleaning services. Management teams want to show their investment in cleaning to reassure their people that workplaces are both clean and safe. As a result of this, today, businesses want their cleaning teams to more visible.

We are living in a world where cleaning is more valued and prioritised than ever before. This brings added pressure on the industry to continuously offer more dynamic and efficient solutions. However, the industry has proven itself to be equal to this challenge. In recent years, we have seen the implementation of new cleaning strategies, the introduction of specialist sanitisers and chemicals, and new technologies.

At Bidvest Noonan, we stepped up our training programmes to ensure our people are ready to lead the way today and in the future. There is a great quote from author Roy. T. Bennett that says to “push your boundaries beyond the ordinary; be that “extra” in “extraordinary””. I believe our cleaning teams are that extra. The work they do is extraordinary.

We have also made big investments in our structures and resources to support our clients, and we continuously invest in innovation. Earlier this year, Bidvest Noonan launched Edge, our new innovation programme. The programme was designed to enable us to innovate faster and share ideas and lessons across our group. Edge is helping us to evaluate solutions across a wide range of domains, ranging from robotics to green cleaning solutions.

The growing demand for greener cleaning solutions has also become a driving force in our industry. More and more companies employ cleaner chemicals and products with a lower carbon footprint. At Bidvest Noonan, this been a motivation for many years. We champion environmentally-friendly products and practices and recently signed a pledge to cut our carbon emissions dramatically.

These changes are helping our industry to grow and develop. I have every confidence that it will continue on its strong trajectory. It will continue to serve our economy and communities and to provide stable employment and opportunities for all the dedicated people who have committed themselves to the industry.

Jo Nicholson, HR Director for our Security Solutions business unit, is a valued member of our UK team. She has extensive experience in building, developing, and leading successful teams. She helps improve productivity and compliance for our business every day. As part of our success factors series, Jo shared with us the principles that have helped forge her successful career.

Darren Martin has built highly successful and award-winning security teams. He is an industry expert with experience in protecting large and prestigious clients. We asked Darren to share his thoughts on leadership, training, and technology trends in the security sector today.

What has been your journey to becoming a Strategic Account Manager at Bidvest Noonan?

I started my security career seventeen years ago as a Security Officer, and over a short period of time I developed a strong skillset in loss prevention and risk management. By the age of 22, I had already progressed to the position of Security Manager for one of the largest luxury department stores in Ireland.

This client facing role helped me to further enhance my skills in leadership, people management, effective communication and problem solving. One of the most important things that I learned early on in my career, was that it is imperative you are a person of high integrity, and that the most successful relationships you will have with clients and colleagues are built on trust.

In my five years working in operations, I have been very lucky to have enjoyed success working in partnership with some of the best-known retailers on the high street, the largest luxury department stores and destination shopping centres, as well as popular tourist attractions and multinational corporations.

The security industry is constantly changing, especially after COVID-19. What skills do you think are most important for security professionals nowadays?

Since the start of the pandemic, the security industry has had to rapidly adapt to changing conditions. The role of the Security Officer has evolved from a uniformed deterrent at the entrance, to an ambassador for the business they represent. By showing empathy, using strong communication and customer service skills, the security professional can support the customer journey, enhance their experience, all while advising of the current safety protocols in place.

We have also seen a shift in the way that the security professional uses technology by having to incorporate occupancy counting, temperature checking and contact tracing efforts as part of their daily duties.

And for leadership? What are the essential traits for successful management in security?

I would have to say that being self-motivated, an effective communicator and people orientated are all essential traits to being successful. It is vital to be able to motivate and empower your team members, if you can enlarge their vision, insight and understanding then this is the best way for a team to build momentum and achieve their goals.

How a company can go about ‘upskilling’ its current security teams?

We are always looking for new ways to upskill our security teams. Examples of this include the roll out of a suicide awareness training programme at the start of the year, regular scenario testing events with our colleague Mark Hobden, and most recently providing access to our officers, supervisors and managers to new recognised security and risk management training programmes through our partnership with ISRM.

In my opinion Continuous Professional Development is a personal choice, and one that is very important to me in my role. I completed the Level 6 Diploma for Certified Security Management Professionals last year, and recently completed a Level 5 certificate in Corporate Risk & Crisis Management. It is vital to keep up to date with emerging global risks and threats, as well as mitigating factors and new ways of working.

What trends do you expect to see in the security sector in 2021 and beyond?

I expect to continue to see the security sector catching up with its use of artificial intelligence, this will have a real positive impact on the way that surveillance is used. Operators will become more efficient and proactive by moving to an event-based way of working, rather than continuous manual monitoring.

Companies will continue to move towards remote security solutions as they combine new technologies with traditional manned guarding techniques. Security Officers are being equipped with added tools to enable them to do their jobs more effectively. These include video analytics software for alarm detection, drones for perimeter protection and quicker response, as well as mobile monitoring solutions.

Digital transformation will continue to be a driver of change in business by allowing us to collaborate more efficiently and deliver better value. Security leaders will need to be prepared for the additional risks that this will present. Personal data will continue to be an attractive target for hackers and there will be an increase in the frequency and severity of cybersecurity incidents, particularly ransomware and phishing attacks.

Contract Manager, Mark McDonald, tells us how his team has adapted to Covid-19 and is equipped and ready for the return to on-campus learning very soon.

When the pandemic hit, how did your team overcome the initial challenges?

My team and I began preparing for this pandemic before the first lockdown started in early 2020. Our biggest challenge was to maintain a clean and safe environment whilst keeping all those on campus safe. Like so many universities around the world, this was unchartered territory, and an uphill battle, but something myself and my team were ready to tackle together.

From the offset, we took a proactive approach. We knew the safety of people was our priority so gaining knowledge of what we were dealing with was important for us. I organised socially distanced toolbox talks to help my team develop an understanding of what was needed. I collated and distributed material and publications from our government on measures to be taken. I also implemented frequent catch-up meetings with the team to educate and update them on the latest developments. This was all done with the aim of protecting ourselves and those around us.

How were you able to maintain service standards?

The joint contract managers and I formulated new strategies and schedules that would allow us to maintain our usual standard of service amidst this disruption. We introduced working pods to ensure minimal crossover and to reduce the number of close contact situations. Working closely with the client we established a new daytime role to increase touch point cleaning frequency. This new role has been the backbone of our service during the pandemic and an important factor in how we have been containing the spread of Covid-19 on campus.

Have you taken any steps to improve your response outbreaks?

From an early stage, I ensured the team was prepared for a potential outbreak on site. Ecostatic sprayers were installed to actively apply a preventative disinfectant, but they also enabled us to decontaminate infected areas if Covid-19 was identified. Several members of both team and management were trained up to use the equipment.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have decontaminated a variety of areas around campus in response to suspected cases. In our high-traffic areas, we have completed countless preventative spraying projects also.

What is your teams’ priorities for the reopening, will there be new systems and ways of working?

Our focus is to continue working closely with the client and estate services to facilitate a smooth transition back to on-campus learning. Currently, we are planning to return as per current government guidelines. This means for the foreseeable future we expect to continue our daytime touchpoint cleaning procedures, remain working in smaller groups, adhere to social distancing where possible, and wear PPE where necessary.

The rollout of a new request logging system is also currently underway. Our client will be able to raise tickets through this system which will be forwarded to our team, providing them with a real-time feed. The job can then be assigned to a team leader to complete and closeout, triggering a notification to all included on the job tree that the job is complete. This means there will be a faster response time and will minimise staff deployment to the affected area where unnecessary.

What do expect in the coming months?

Since we began our work on-site here at UCD, and particularly since the start of the pandemic, our team has had an incredible ability to adapt to change and overcome any challenges put in front of us. We have strong backing from the leadership team at Bidvest Noonan that will ensure we have the resources we need to continue doing so.

While the government guidelines may change how we work, we will adjust as required and continue to work to the best of our ability in the safest manner possible, supporting client operations across the portfolio. We will stay in discussion with the client to ensure both teams are working in tandem.  This continued support and communication has built an environment of trust and partnership and we look forward to continuing this as we welcome everyone back on campus.